Calculate Your Pecan Losses With New Online Tool

The Noble Research Institute and Oklahoma State University developed the Pecan Loss Calculator to estimate the number of pounds and dollars lost as a result of pecan harvester inefficiency and wild pig rooting damage.

Research conducted on Noble’s Red River Farm found that 10 percent of pecans, whether native or improved varieties, were not harvested because of pecan harvester inefficiency. In areas damaged or rooted by pigs, 33.7 percent of pecans could not be harvested, bringing the total non-harvestable loss to 43.7 percent in areas damaged by pigs.

Did You Know?

Wild pigs are established in 36 states. Present U.S. population estimates place wild pig numbers at 6.3 million nationwide. Significantly, in 1990,wild pigs numbered only 500,000 to 2 million. —Farm Journal

The Pecan Loss Calculator can calculate estimates for both forms of loss in either native groves or improved/planted orchards. Long-term averages for production (pounds per acre) and price per pound are prepopulated and specific to native or improved varieties. The user can overwrite these values by entering current and site-specific production and pricing.

Here’s an example of how quickly these losses can add up. Let’s consider 250 acres of native pecans and 250 acres of planted orchards with 5 percent of each area being damaged by wild pigs. Accepting the long-term average production and price per pound, total baseline loss because of pecan harvester inefficiency would be $90,557, and the loss due to wild pigs would be $15,259. The total loss would equal $105,816.